Virtual Reality Solutions for Cognitive Rehabilitation

More than 16 million people in the United States seek cognitive rehabilitation services after a stroke, traumatic brain injury, onset of dementia, or other disorders. These disorders significantly impair an individual’s daily functioning abilities. Occupational therapists working in clinical and hospital environments often rely on simulated functional activities in unnatural environments to address cognitive deficits. This places constraints on treatment options due to lack of access to necessary equipment and appropriate spaces or because an activity would not be safe to do in real life. This can limit the therapeutic power of a treatment session. A breadth of research has examined the effectiveness of virtual reality in cognitive rehabilitation. SpanAbility seeks to address those limitations by creating virtual reality games that are immersive, realistic, engaging, and simulate practical life activities that would otherwise be inaccessible in a clinic or hospital.